{"id":216433,"date":"2023-11-15T00:57:53","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T00:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/?p=216433"},"modified":"2023-11-15T00:57:53","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T00:57:53","slug":"joe-cordina-covered-in-goosebumps-backed-by-god-surrounded-by-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/sport\/joe-cordina-covered-in-goosebumps-backed-by-god-surrounded-by-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Cordina: Covered in goosebumps, backed by God, surrounded by gold"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Cordina floors Kenichi Ogawa with a brutal right cross in 2022<\/p>\n

Cordina has certainly become a better boxer, building on a promising amateur career to compile an unbeaten pro record and, in June 2022, winning the IBF title. Cordina may aspire to a place in heaven but, make no mistake, it was a right hand from hell that obliterated Kenichi Ogawa that night. Matchroom chairman Eddie Hearn tells The Independent<\/em>: \u201cWhen you start ticking all the boxes to be an all-round fighter … Some people said, \u2018Oh, I don\u2019t know if he carries the power,\u2019 then he delivers the knockout of the year.\u201d <\/p>\n

Cordina was denied his first title defence, five months later, after suffering a hand injury. The Welshman was stripped of his belt, but he would soon get a shot at new champion Shavkat Rakhimov, in April. \u201c[After the Ogawa knockout], it\u2019s, \u2018Yeah, but he\u2019s a bit of a pretty boy, isn\u2019t he? Is he actually very tough?\u2019\u201d Hearn continues. \u201cThen he fights Rakhimov in a war, in a fight of the year.\u201d Cordina emerged a split-decision winner, making it back-to-back title triumphs in his home city of Cardiff.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlus, he\u2019s got all the amateur credentials and attributes,\u201d Hearn says. \u201cHe\u2019s a family man, from Cardiff, man of the people, good-looking kid, carries himself well.\u201d Frank Smith, CEO of Matchroom, agrees: \u201cHe\u2019s a standout star from a lot of those amateurs who came through. He\u2019s not just got the ability and skillset, he\u2019s got the looks \u2013 which are a big part of it \u2013 and the personality to go even further than he has right now. We\u2019ve just got to deliver him the big fights, a stadium fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Eddie Hearn congratulates Cordina on his victory over Shavkat Rakhimov<\/p>\n

A stadium fight in Cardiff would ink Cordina into the pages of Welsh sporting folklore, if he is not already there. \u201cI\u2019m the 13th Welsh world champion. I looked at all of them before me and thought, \u2018I\u2019d love to be there,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cNow I\u2019m one of them. You go into a gym and people go, \u2018There\u2019s Joe Cordina!\u2019 They want photos with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the very champions whom Cordina looked up to, Barry Jones, now looks on with pride. \u201cFor Cardiff, I was their last world champion, which was in 1997, so it\u2019d been a long wait,\u201d Jones says. \u201cWe\u2019ve had some fantastic fighters, but they couldn\u2019t get over the line, so when Joe challenged Ogawa and when he landed that shot \u2013 of all shots \u2013 it was one of the proudest moments of my life, I have to be honest. Boxing\u2019s been in my life as long as I can remember, and I take joy out of my own career before anyone else\u2019s \u2013 as we all do \u2013 but I am patriotic, especially when I have a connection, which I do with Joe through a family friend. The night Joe won a world title, I hadn\u2019t been so happy for someone else doing so well since my other friend called Joe \u2013 Calzaghe, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Jones acknowledges, Cordina is \u201cpivotal for Welsh boxing at the moment\u201d. \u201cIt went a little bit flat for a while, let\u2019s be honest,\u201d Jones says, \u201cbut other fighters can build off Joe and relate to him.\u201d The 49-year-old, who held the WBO belt in Cordina\u2019s division, also references Cordina\u2019s faith as a reason for his relatability among a segment of fans. <\/p>\n

And so, we come back to religion, and its importance to Cordina. \u201cYou thank God every day, whether things go right or badly,\u201d Cordina says. \u201cWe\u2019re always thankful when things go right, but not when they don\u2019t go our way. Some people are afraid or embarrassed to pray when people are watching. I don\u2019t give a s***, that\u2019s my religion. [But] it\u2019s not like I\u2019m going into a fight thinking, \u2018Please, God, help me\u2019; he\u2019s already protecting me. I\u2019m blessed. He\u2019s put me in this position for a reason, it\u2019s not a fluke. I\u2019ve trained hard, I\u2019ve done all the work, and he\u2019s got my back.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Cordina at the press conference for his title defence against Vazquez <\/p>\n

Cordina derives \u201cpower\u201d from that feeling, and also from his children. The father of three says: \u201cAs long as I\u2019m thinking of my kids, that gives me power. I saw something the other day: \u2018You do everything as though your kids don\u2019t owe you anything.\u2019 Even if you invest hundreds and thousands into them, they don\u2019t owe you anything. As long as they have good morals and respect… obviously, they get to an age where they start drifting off and there\u2019s not much you can say, but if they respect me as a father, that\u2019s all I want. <\/p>\n

\u201cI said to my wife the other day when I was home: \u2018At this present moment while I\u2019m fighting \u2013 only for another two or three years \u2013 I can\u2019t commit to you and the kids [like I want to]. I just can\u2019t do it.\u2019 I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s me feeling weak, because I go home and sit with my kids and don\u2019t want to go back to camp, but I know that my sacrifice is going to set them up for life. But all you\u2019re trying to do is make them better people \u2013 better than you are. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhether I\u2019m a world champion or not, it doesn\u2019t matter, as long as I did everything I could as a father.\u201d<\/p>\n

Note: Article first published on 3 Nov 2023; updated on 9 Nov 2023.<\/em><\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cordina floors Kenichi Ogawa with a brutal right cross in 2022 Cordina has certainly become a better boxer, building on a promising amateur career to compile an unbeaten pro record and, in June 2022, winning the IBF title. Cordina may aspire to a place in heaven but, make no mistake, it was a right hand from hell that obliterated Kenichi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nJoe Cordina: Covered in goosebumps, backed by God, surrounded by gold - Best World News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/sport\/joe-cordina-covered-in-goosebumps-backed-by-god-surrounded-by-gold\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Joe Cordina: Covered in goosebumps, backed by God, surrounded by gold - Best World News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cordina floors Kenichi Ogawa with a brutal right cross in 2022 Cordina has certainly become a better boxer, building on a promising amateur career to compile an unbeaten pro record and, in June 2022, winning the IBF title. 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